The Naruto IMAN Project
by TheSannin
Summary: The main cast is out on a serious mission, with serious consequences......AND SERIOUS PAIRINGS! A fic so large it takes more than one author to write it. NaruxHina, KakaxSaku, JiraiayaxTsunade and more!
1. The Great Jinchuriki Mission

**Disclamer: I own everything that is Naruto and Naruto-related…….PSYCHE!!**

**A/N: This story is part of a brilliant 'multific' project engineered by my fellow author and friend Ashley. This story is what I'd like to call an 'Improvisational Multi-Author Narrative' or 'IMAN'; it is the collective work of two or more authors and involves them carrying along a plot without any input from the other author(s) save the information in the preceding chapter. Basically it's like an Olympic relay, you write a chapter and then you 'pass the baton' so to speak. Neways enough explanation let the magic begin!!This first chapter was writen by me, Justin, ak on fanfiction as, 'Kazu the E.P.O.A.' Please review!!**

_**Chapter 1**_

_**The Great Jinchuriki Mission**_

As the the sun shone down on her on the terrace a cool breeze swept through the trees of Konoha, softly caressing her face and carrying her golden locks behind her. Her heart filled with sadness at the thought of her most recent loss.

"Oh Jiraiya...", she whispered softly to herself.

"Tsunade-sama. It's time to start the meeting, everyone's waiting." came the voice of her faithful assistant Suzume.

"Yare yare...I'm coming. Jeez."

As the Fifth Hokage entered her office she was greeted by the sight of perhaps the most interesting group of ninja she had ever encountered in her life. Before her stood Team 10 (sans the late Asuma Sarutobi), Team 8 (with a most pregnant looking Kurenai), Team Guy (looking as youthful as ever) and of course Team Kakashi (a rag-tag team of three Jounins, a medical Chuunin and Konoha's loudest, most surprising and probably oldest Genin). They looked at her with the calmness befitting Shinobi of their caliber.

"As you all know, I've called this emergency meeting in regards to the recent report from Team Kakashi's last mission as well as Jiraiya's dying message." Tsunade paused if only for a moment out of respect for her fallen comrade "If the intel we now have is correct it means that the Akatsuki is readying itself for the final phase of their master plan. It is imperative that we prevent them from acquiring any more tailed beasts which is why I'm going to split you up into special groups in order to search for and-if possible-protect the Jinchurikis. I have also requested assistance from our allies the Sand and the Cloud. They should-"

"Umm Tsundae-sama. The cloud has refused our request." Came the voice of Suzume meekly.

"DAMNIT! Those idiots don't seem to understand the gravity of this situation! They must still be angry about the Hyuuga incident years ago..." the angry Hokage paused to think "Very well we'll send a diplomatic team over there immediately. Hinata, Neji and Kurenai, you three will head over to the cloud and negotiate a truce. Take the Fire Country councilors with you. Now the next step is-"

WHOOOOSSSSHHH

Suddenly in a cloud of sand and wind four ninjas appeared outside the Hokage's office on the railing of the terrace. Suzume rushed to let the visitors in.

"The emissary from the Sand Village has arrived." said Temari in a very authoritative voice.

"Heh...this troublesome woman is always in the village." scoffed Shikamaru.

"You better watch your mouth you smart aleck punk or I'll-"

"Temari please. Don't be this guy's puppet" came the voice of her older brother Kankuro.

"...Naruto-kun, nice to see you again." said Gaara stoically.

"Hokage-sama I am here to assist as well. I know these three the best and can help the Leaf nins deal with their quirks." said Baki in a polite voice.

"No need to worry about that Baki, I know you are one of the sand's best but so are they. I actually want to put you with Yamato and-"

"HOLD UP TSUNADE NO BA-CHAN!!" shouted Naruto.

"...what is it!?" seethed Tsunade.

"I want to go to the Cloud too! The ninjas there use lightning element and I want to test my skill against lightning attacks!" said the yellow-haired Jinchuriki.

"That's right Naruto-san!! Training is very important!!" said Lee.

"OH YOUTH!!" said Guy.

"WOULD ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!!...fine then. Naruto you will also go to the cloud with the Hyuugas and

Kurenai." said the Godaime with finality.

"DATTEBAYO!!"

"Now, as I was saying we need to locate the other Jinchuriki and-"

"BA-CHAN!!"

"WHAT NOW YA LITTLE PEST!! I SAID YOU COULD GO TO THE CLOUD!! WHAT MORE COULD YOU POSSIBLY WANT!!"

"...Sasuke..."

The room was filled with dead silence at the mention of his name.

"Look as far as we know Sasuke is in the custody of the Akatsuki along with Itachi's body. The best way to get him back is to stop Akatsuki." said Tsunade solemnly.

"For all we know Sasuke could be on the beach posing by some rocks laughs" said Shikamaru.

"You think you're always right don't you!?" Temari said.

"Well it's hard to be wrong when you're always right." said Shikamaru coolly.

"Why you..."

"Let us return to the meeting please." came the calm and collected voice of Neji Hyuuga.

"Thank you Neji. Now, the teams and objectives are as follows: Neji, Hinata, Kurenai and Naruto. You will go to the cloud with the Councilors and negotiate a treaty. You will also search for the Two-tails Jinchuriki."

"Affirmative"

"Y-y-y-yes"

"Understood."

"HELLS YEAH! I'M GONNA SEE SOME LIGHTNING!!"

"Next up is Kakashi. You and your dogs are more than capable of handling the search for the Five-tails on your own but just to be safe please take along a medic nin. That means you Sakura."

"Yes Tsunade-sensei. Thank you for trusting me like this" said the pink haired medical ninja.

"Thank you Tsunade-sama. Hmm, the Five-tails is a shark-like beast that means the best place to look for him would be along the coast."

"Heh, maybe you'll see Sasuke there posing! Huh Shikamaru old buddy?"

Chouji began to laugh heartily at his friend's previous joke and as he did so he began to spill some of the potato chips he had been eating. This greatly angered Ino who stood right beside him.

"Jeez Chouji you're such a pig!"

"Well get used to that pig Ino" said Tsunade "because that pig is your teammate in the search for the six-tails."

"NOOO!!" Ino screamed.

"Along with Sai" added Tsunade.

"YESSS!!" Ino screamed again.

"Kankuro, Kiba and Shino. You three will search for the seven tails."

"I'm cool with that."

"Looks like I may end up saving your life again huh dog-boy?"

"Now the Eightitails should prove to be quite the foe which is why I want the people with the most experience in handling a beast to investigate its Jinchuriki (should one even exist). Yamato, Baki and Gaara. You three will take care of that."

"Yes Tsunade-sama. Gaara and I can handle Jinchurikis."

"Indeed. I will try my best Hokage-sama."

"...I can handle it..."

"Now, the Four-tails Jinchuriki it seems is an old man. Someone who is more likely to be won over by talk and solid convincing is best taken care of by two intelligent people. This is why I'm sending Shikamaru and Temari."

"What!?"

"...I can't even BEGIN to say how troublesome this will be."

"Now for the Three-tails. Our intel says that the Three-tails doesn't have a Jinchuriki and just patrols the waters of Wave country. So, I know that the Mist village is not on good terms with us and that Mist nins can only be fought by those who have experience in dealing with their special abilities. This is why I'm sending Tenten, Might Guy and Rock Lee. You three have experience in dealing with dangerous Mist nins like Kisame so you shouldn't be too surprised by the techniques of the Sanbi. Also, who better to deal with a beast than the Leaf's own Green Beasts ne?"

"Thank you very much Hokage-sama."

"Yes! Me and my cute Lee will take him down!!"

"I'll throw pointy things at it..."

The Hokage looked around the room content with her decisions. She raised one hand in the air and as she brought it down she said...

"NINJAS...MOVE OUT!!"

The room emptied in a flash of smoke and they were off.

**  
A/N: The next chapter will be wrtten by Ashley. Check her out on fanfiction: brighteyedcherryblossom... hope you liked the first entry.  
**


	2. Forget Me Not

**Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim this fic in the name of Masashi Kishimoto!**

**A/N: Hey there! Brighteyedcherryblossom here and this is my chapter. Hope you enjoy. REVIEW!!**

**_Chapter 2_**

**_Forget Me Not_**

A weary sigh was the only thing capable of leaving her lips as she watched as the smoked cleared.

"Kami, please be with them." She pleaded to the heaven with downcast eyes.  
The room was silent as a heavy stillness loomed over the oval shaped office. The feeling of gloom started to become slightly overbearing, forcing her to resume her position on the balcony. The wind grew cooler as evening set itself upon the great Leaf Village. A slight chill ran up her spine from the circling air, but she didn't care. Nothing much mattered at this time, especially around these evening hours. Wrapping herself in her own embrace to maintain some warmth, memories of him flooded over her... and with them the unwavering pain she felt every day.

She held herself even tighter now.

'Control yourself, Tsunade.' She thought to herself, catching the last calm breath possible before the river of tears flowed freely from her eyes.

"Do you always cry to yourself when I'm far away?"

Her heart leaped from fear at the sound of his voice.

"Jiriaya-kun?" She whispered franticly, spinning round on her heels.

What she saw was neither shocking nor disturbing. It was beautiful. With a quivering lip and shaking hands, she reached upward to touch the face she had caressed and slapped countless times before.

"Jiraiya..." She breathed dreamily as she looked up into his auburn eyes.

His expression was soft as he marvelled at her.

Something about him seemed heavenly and peaceful. As if he were but a mere hollow entity, with a luminous glow around him. His smile was ever so warm and inviting. That smile, that genuine loving smile, was all she looked forward to at a day's end. His skin was as soft as a cloud. The temptation to trail her index fingers down the middle of his facial tattoos was too strong to resist. She had hoped for his usual reaction to her unique gesture, and was overjoyed to receive it. His arms wrapped round her waist, drawing her entire self into his large chest.

She sighed with contentment.

"Tsune-kun." He whispered as he held her even closer to himself. She could hear the longing in his voice.

She allowed her guard to fall as he stroked her golden trestles.

'He's so warm.' She thought gliding her arms as far round his back as they would allow her to go. His signature white hair cascaded down his back as it always did. The feeling of running her fingers through it was almost lost to her... she silently thanked Kami for giving her this chance once more. They stood there, lost in their own thoughts of each other for a moment.

"Tsune-kun, you must be careful." He warned.

Was the moment to be over so soon?

"What do you mean, Ero-kun?" She asked half heartedly as she cuddled closer to him.

"Listen to me Tsunade." He insisted, stepping back from her for a moment to look at her in the eyes. The sigh he breathed let her know that she still made him weak. The serious expression he wore slowly faded to one of woe.

Her eyes closed and head lowered, signalling for him to continue to speak.

"There is little I can say now, but you have to be careful."

"Careful of what Jiraiya?"

"The mission. "

Her head shot up and eyes opened.

"What?"

She knew the mission was dangerous, but she had full faith in the teams she assigned... Had she made an error in her selections?

Almost as if he sensed her panic, the toad ninja placed a large hand on the side of her face to regain her attention.

"They can do this, Tsune-kun... just be wary of those who you have forgotten."

Before she could beg for an explanation, he leaned in.

Their lips met in the most innocent and passionate of ways. His body drew itself into her till not even a breeze could pass between them. She released the air that was lodged in her lungs from his surprise gesture, as their passion grew deeper. His pace was slow, but his hunger was evident. However, she was not appalled by his aggression... She yearned for it.

One more deep quenching of their souls' desires for connection, then he pulled away from her mouth. He lingered close to her lips as if to give them both air before another go, but instead he moved away slowly, leaving her slightly breathless. Her eyes began to fill once more as she looked on at his retreat.

"He reminds me of you, you know."

He laughed heartily at her statement. Her childish smile could no longer be held back at the sound of his bellowing laughter.

"Well, I did train him for some time, so I guess I rubbed off on him."

He turned his back towards her then stopped.

"Try to be nice to him, Tsunade-chan" He pleaded warily, as he scratched the back of his head.

"Why do you think I'm mean to him? He reminds me of you."

'Hmmm.' He sounded deep in his throat.

One last look over his shoulder, a wave of his left hand and a simple "Ja ne... Tsune-kun," was all she was left with.

The breeze picked up once more. She knew he was gone again and it pained. All she could do was stare at the spot where he stood jus seconds ago. He was there. Wasn't he?

"Lady Tsunade-sama?" A shaky voice came from beyond the French doors of the office.

Reality hit.

The sky was dark and the lanterns bordering the roads of Konoha were being lit far below her.

"What is it Suzume?" She replied meekly.

"My Lady, its cold out. You should come inside now." She said hurriedly as she threw a blanket over her superiors' shoulders.

"Right..." She said in a stronger voice, though her mind still drifted.  
As she made her way back into the warmth of her office, she couldn't help but place her hand on her lips.

'...just be wary of those who you have forgotten'

His words echoed through her mind... as well as the memory of his touch.  
There was no possible way she could have been dreaming... He felt too real.

A/N: Next chapter is by Kazu. Please review.


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